Where does turmeric come from?
Originating in Southeast Asia, curcuma (curcuma longa) has been known since ancient times in both the West and the Far East. Thus the Greek physician Dioscorides already mentioned it in his treatise Materia Medica. Sacred spice in India, it is a natural ingredient used in Ayurvedic medicine since time immemorial. It is often confused with saffron because of their common orange yellow color (saffron is pollen harvested from crocus while turmeric is a root). It was from the 17th century, with the Company of the Indies, that the Indian Safran or Merit Land was imported to Europe for its taste and medicinal properties. Funny detail: The English name of curcuma, turmeric, is inherited from the French land merit, which referred to the terrestrial substance of the root and because it deserved to be known for its great virtues.
The Characteristics of Curcuma
Curcuma is composed mainly of Curcumin which is the biologically active ingredient of curcuma. From a medical point of view, natural turmeric has very low effectiveness. Indeed, in an aqueous environment such as the intestine or the stomach, its hydrophobic molecules clustered. Too large, they cannot cross the wall of the intestine and very little is then absorbed. Therefore, it is necessary to take large quantities to see any effect. To bypass this problem, some combine it with pepper (piperine) to improve its bioavailability. But the reverse of the coin of this absorption strategy is a risk of inflammation of the intestines.
The Curcuma by Synergia® Potentialized Curcumin based on Cavacurmin® solves this problem: the curcumin powder it contains is potentialized with a natural oligosaccharide called g-cyclodextrine (called “gama”-cyclodextrine). The hydrophobic structure of g-cyclodextrine will encapsulate the lipophilic curcumin: it will prevent it from agglomerating into a large molecule and will thus ensure the solubility of the curcumine in an aqueous system such as our intestines. Curcumin will be able to cross the barriers of the intestine, releasing itself from the g-cyclodextrine cage molecule and spreading throughout the body. After releasing their curcumin molecule, g-cyclodextrins barely diffuse through biological membranes and are therefore not absorbed during intestinal transit. They will simply be evacuated by natural means. Thus, potentialized Curcumin is 40 times better absorbed than pure curcumin powder (1) - such as curcuma used in cooking.
The Uses and Properties of Curcuma
There are several uses for curcuma: food, medical and textile uses. Its medical use has been proven for a very long time, in India.
The World Health Organization has identified some traditional uses for Curcuma longa (2): Treatment of gastro-duodenal ulcers, pain and inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhoea, diarrhea, epilepsy, pain, and skin diseases. The American Institute for Cancer Research (3) or the Belgian Cancer Foundation advocate the use of curcuma as a preventive measure against cancer. Curcuma is of remarkable effectiveness in that it is bio-available. Its anti-inflammatory properties will then do wonders.
References: (1) Martin Purpura, Ryan P. Lowery, Jacob M. Wilson, Haider Mannan, Gerald Münch, Valentina Razmovski-Naumovski; Analysis of different innovative formulations of curcumin for improved relative oral bioavailability in human subjects; Eur. J. Nutr. DOI 10.1007/s00394-016-1376-9. (2) See WHO Internet Portal: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js2200e/14.html. (3) American Institute for Cancer Research. Dietary Options for Cancer Survivors. 2002.
Potentiated Curcumin
